Pacquiao plans defamation suit

SARANGANI, Philippines (AP) — Manny Pacquiao said he is planning to file a defamation lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather Jr., the fighter’s father and Golden Boy Promotions.

In a statement posted yesterday on his Web site, Pacquiao claims that his character has been damaged and tarnished by accusations he said are untrue.

“Enough is enough,” Pacquiao said in the statement. “These people, Mayweather Sr., Jr., and Golden Boy Promotions, think it is a joke and a right to accuse someone wrongly of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs”

The proposed megafight between Pacquiao and Mayweather is in danger because the sides have failed to find a compromise to a dispute over blood testing. Promoter Bob Arum declared the bout dead Thursday.

Arum had set a Thursday deadline for an agreement on testing, the only issue not resolved for the planned March 13 fight. But with the Mayweather camp still insisting on using the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to conduct the tests, Arum said there wasn’t much left to discuss.

At the core of the dispute is the insistence of the Mayweather camp of using Olympic-style drug testing for the fight, even though both fighters have never been linked to any performance-enhancing substances.

“I have instructed my promoter, Bob Arum, head of Top Rank Inc., to help me out in the filing of the case as soon as possible because I have had people coming over to me now asking if I really take performance-enhancing drugs and I have cheated my way into becoming the No. 1 boxer in the world,” Pacquiao said.

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